


far from the tree

by exbex



Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Duty, F/M, Future Fic, Internal Conflict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27870742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exbex/pseuds/exbex
Summary: Anna looks out her bedroom window and sighs. She’s only pretending that there are three choices here. There are two, and the gap between them is widening every day.
Relationships: Maxwell Beaumont/Hana Lee, Maxwell Beaumont/Main Character (The Royal Romance)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Annabelle Beaumont has a stack of acceptance letters sitting in front of her on her desk, just to her left. To her right, there are two scrapbooks, and directly in front of her, a tiara.

The scrapbooks are a bit worn. Anna can tell, without looking, which pages are a bit crinkled. The acceptance letters are pristine, white, crisp. The tiara is familiar, comfortable, but it doesn’t shine like it once did.

Anna looks out her bedroom window and sighs. She’s only pretending that there are three choices here. There are two, and the gap between them is widening every day.

**

“Why are you sneaking in through my bedroom window instead of using the doors like a sensible person? It’s rather lucky that the guards recognize you, otherwise they’d be swarming the room.” Elle doesn’t look up from her tablet as Anna spills through the window and takes several moments to remove leaves from her hair.

“I didn’t want to risk running into your parents tonight.” Elle looks up at this admission, her face drawn in concern. “Anna…”

“Do you remember when I was younger? And I would come back from a holiday on the Reservation, and my entire manner of speaking had changed? And then it’d fade away after a few days home? But then return every time I went for a visit?” Anna stares into the mirror over Elle’s vanity, then turns to look at all of her books of history and political science.

“What’s wrong Anna?” Elle puts her tablet down on her bed and stands, walking over to Anna.

“I think...I want to abdicate.” Anna has the profound urge to sit down. 

Elle has either grown several feet in a matter of seconds, or Anna has missed the chair and ended up on the floor. She stares up at her best friend, biting her bottom lip. “Are you going to try to talk me out of it?”

Elle holds out her hands to help Anna to her feet. She leads Anna to sit on the bed. Taking both of Anna’s hands in her’s she looks deeply into her eyes. “I think you should start talking.”

“When I was little, I made this tiara that had feathers and beads on it. I loved that thing, wore it everywhere. It never occurred to me that it wouldn’t be easy to live in both worlds.”

Elle is holding her hand, nodding as she listens. She’s steady, she’s an anchor. “Anna, I’m getting the sense you’re not telling me everything.”

She’s shrewd. She’s gentle but also honest. She’s perfect for the role of future leader of Cordonia.

“I got into medical school. A few medical schools.”

Elle’s eyes light up. “That’s great!” Realization dawns on her face, her delight turning to sympathy. “Oh. I think I get it.”

“It was always going to come to this. Duty or desire.” Anna makes a face. “That sounds like the title of a bad romance novel.”

Elle doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t look away either.

“I know. It could be the title of one of my father’s books. Except my father is a better writer than that.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re afraid that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?”

Anna stares at her hands. “I’m not sure. Afraid that it doesn’t...or maybe afraid that it does. And never has a single apple fallen from two trees.” She looks up, turning her head to look out the window. “Gravity. It was always going to happen. But where between the two trees did I fall?”

**

Anna smoothes her acceptance letters into the box, over a handwritten letter that she has read so many times she has it memorized. By the time Riley had given it to her, it was already fifteen years old. It was only slightly weathered. Anna had opened it carefully, as if it was as delicate as a butterfly’s wings.

Anna hadn’t understood it. _“If it was so bad-if Cordonia was so bad, if you regretted letting King Liam appoint me as the heir, why did you leave me there?”_

_Riley looked at her from where she was seated, watching Anna pace back and forth, letter in hand. “I knew your tribal membership meant that legally, I wouldn’t lose joint custody of you. And I wasn’t about to separate you from your father.” She paused, sorrow in her eyes for a moment. “And I wasn’t going to give him an ultimatum to choose between his country and me.”_

_Anna stopped pacing and stared at Riley. “Why not? You were in love.” Anna was a crown princess, and she knew that fairy tales differed from reality. But she believed in true love-she’d seen it_

_“Annabelle, love isn’t always enough.”_

Upon Anna’s return from that trip, she had barely walked through the doors of the Valtoria estate before she’d sought Maxwell out, but all the questions died on her lips when she found him dancing with Hana, the two of them laughing and looking at one another adoringly.

Anna had pored over so many pictures of her parents in her life, all three of them. The way Maxwell and Hana looked at one another was the same way Maxwell and Riley had looked at one another. And then there were the oldest pictures of Riley in Cordonia, the ones that told Anna that Hana and Riley hadn’t always been just friends.

Apparently love wasn’t enough. Or at the very least, it wasn’t uncomplicated.

Anna sighs as she closes the lid of the box. The three most important people in her life had each had to choose. Why would her life be any different?

**

Anna takes a shaky breath as she pulls up her stepfather’s name on her phone. It feels wrong to tell him before anyone else, but she needs his analytical nature.

“Annabelle? Is everything okay?” It’s a fair question; Anna has a good relationship with Ethan, but she doesn’t often call him instead of Riley.

“Yeah.” It’s not entirely the truth, but then, Anna has a decent grasp on how much privilege she has. “I have some acceptance letters in front of me, for medical school, and, um, well I’m favoring University of Colorado. It’s kind of close to the reservation and has a good research program, from what I understand.” She feels slightly out of breath, having hoped to avoid the awkward questions.

“Anna...congratulations! Oh, your mother didn’t tell me...or did you just call her?”

“Um...Ethan, you’re the second person I’ve told.”

There’s a pause, long enough for Anna to draw a picture of Ethan and his furrowing eyebrows in her mind. 

“I see. Well, if medical research is your aim, UC is an excellent choice.” There’s another pause. “Your mother is teaching days right now and I have night shifts at the hospital for the next three days. Please call her within those next three days” He clears his throat. “Anna, I know I don’t know what you’re going through, but...do you want to talk about it?”

Anna exhales. “I’m pretty sure I know what I’m going to do, I just…” The veracity of her words strikes her only a moment before she says them. “I’m not sure how I’m going to tell them.” 

“You know Anna, I’ve read your dad’s books. Your parents seem to know something about being afraid to disappoint their parents. And, well, they certainly know something about being let down by their own parents.” He clears his throat. “If they’re anything but proud of you-and I’d wager that that is a rather watery ‘if’-well, I’d figure out how to prepare a crow for you and I to share.”

Anna only realizes she's near tears when she lets out a watery laugh. She smoothes the letter in front of her. “Thanks Ethan. I’ll call Mom really soon.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley looks down for a moment, before looking back at the screen and leaning just a little bit closer. “I’m not going to tell you that every choice I made was entirely for you. But I did think about the impact of my choices on...your potential for choice. That’s what I wanted for you more than anything.”

Anna sits in her most comfortable armchair and focuses on her breathing. She checks her image and when she feels the same calm that her eyes reveal, she dials Riley.

“Hello Anna.” Riley smiles, eyes that look just like Anna’s lighting up. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too Mom. I uh, have some news.”

“Okay.” Riley gave her a patient, encouraging look.

“I’ve been accepted into medical school. A few medical schools.”

“Congratulations Love,” Riley grins. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Yeah. Um, it’s good. Really good. But there’s something else.” Anna closes her eyes and breathes again. When she opens her eyes again, Riley’s eyebrows are furrowed in concern.

“I’m considering abdicating. More than considering, actually. I’m, like, eighty-five percent certain that I’m going to.” It’s less like a weight being lifted from her shoulders than it’s as if the muscles in her shoulders are uncoiling.

Riley nods, but she gives herself away when she purses her lips for just a moment.

“You’re worried.”

“Comes with parenting.” 

“Just say it Mom.”

“What do you expect me to say?”

“I expect you want to ask me if I’m sure about this. And I know I shouldn’t act as if I can read minds, but I expect you’re already working yourself up, wondering if it’s your fault I’m in this position.”

Riley looks down for a moment, before looking back at the screen and leaning just a little bit closer. “I’m not going to tell you that every choice I made was entirely for you. But I did think about the impact of my choices on...your potential for choice. That’s what I wanted for you more than anything.” She pauses, sighs. “Something that happened when I became a parent....I became very aware of the fact that making decisions about life can be a rollercoaster.” She shakes her head. “No, I already knew that. I became aware that you would have to go through all of that as well. I think being a parent...you want to shield your children, but you know you can’t. And that….well, it’s difficult.”

Anna exhaled and pulled her hair over her shoulder, twisting it into a braid. “Yeah. Yeah I get it. And apparently so do you.”

Riley gave a careful smile. “Do you want to talk about that remaining fifteen percent?”

Anna sighs. “I just...part of me thinks I should base my decision on what will do the most good for the most people. And a part of me just thinks that that’s crazy. I mean, I want to practice medicine more than almost anything. But I also am terrified that I’m going to start medical school and think I made a terrible mistake.”

Riley looks at her thoughtfully. “Do you have to decide now? About abdicating, I mean. King Liam and Queen Octavia are healthy, right? And their children have been training and preparing for the possibility of ruling their entire lives.”

Anna blinks. “Wow. I guess I hadn’t even considered it.” She pauses. “Elle is the first person I told. She was really encouraging, and she wasn’t freaked out about the idea…”

Riley’s eyes widen. “Have you...not told Hana and Maxwell?”

“Not yet. I uh, told Elle yesterday. I called Ethan thirty minutes ago. And now you.”

“I see…” Riley nods. 

“I’ll tell them soon. They’re away from Valtoria on duchy business right now. They’ll return on Saturday sometime and I’ll tell them on Sunday. Give them time to settle back in before they get this bombshell.”

Riley raises an eyebrow. “I can’t imagine it’ll be as bad as all that.”

“It’s possible that you just don’t have as active an imagination.”

Riley’s smirk twitches at the corner of her mouth, as if she’s trying to hold back laughter. “I know you think we’re all terribly old, being in our fifties and all, but our memories are all pretty sharp, and we were all present for Hana’s rebellion against her parents. You being one of the apples of their eyes, and having worked so hard to achieve your dream, it is inconceivable that they’ll be anything but thrilled for you and proud of you.”

Anna wipes the tears away from her eyes. “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”

Riley smiles. “Hmm...I suppose I should use another word. Doubtful, perhaps.”

“I suppose I sound foolish.” Anna sighs.

“You sound human.” Riley’s tone is gentle. “Annabelle, are you alone at the estate right now?”

“Alex is around here somewhere. Or will be soon.” Anna checks her phone; if Alex is going to be late, they’ll have sent a text. There are no new messages. She looks back up at the screen of her tablet. “I haven’t told them yet.”

“They have their mom’s incredible wisdom and penchant for baking, I’m just saying.”

“It’s true; all I have to do is say the word and they’ll have a self-care routine in action. But probably some sarcastic quips as well; they’ve been hanging around Drake a lot lately, what with their mutual passions for sewing and fishing.”

Riley smiles. “Speaking of, how is the Duke of Lythikos these days?”

“Doing well. Always busy.”

“Four children and Olivia will do that, I imagine.”

“Indeed. Alright, I’m done talking about me and my world. Tell me how you’re doing and what’s happening at Brown University’s poli sci department.”

“Well, settle in.”

Ninety minutes and one bubble bath later, Anna is feeling better, her anxiety having simmered down to a mild dread.

“Annabel, Annabel, where did you go?/I’ve looked high and I’ve looked low/I’ve looked low and I’ve looked high…”

“I’m in my room Alex.” Anna turns Alex’s favorite armchair towards the bed before settling cross-legged up against her headboard.

“You look awfully tired for five-thirty.” Alex sinks into the armchair and gives Anna an inquisitive look.

“I got into medical school.”

“You’re going to have to get used to being tired. I’ve heard medical school is a bit of a challenge.”

Anna tosses one of her few plushies at them. “Thank goodness you’re here to warn me.”

Alex catches the plushie and sets it next to them. “Congratulations Sis. You’re a legend, but you already knew that.” They grin, but then tilt their head to the side, examining her. “Something’s going on with you.”

“I’m considering abdicating. More than considering.”

“Whoa. Heavy.” Alex nods. “Where’s the binder?”

“What binder?”

“The one that I’m sure you made with lists of pros and cons and economic projections and whatever.”

Anna lobs another plushie at them. “You’re incorrigible.”

Alex catches the plushie and positions it behind the first.

“Alex. You’re sixteen years old. Stop making the plushies have sex.”

“Anna. I’m sixteen years old. Sex is all I think about.”

“Liar.”

Alex switches to making the plushies cuddle instead and settles more comfortably in the chair. “You wanna talk about it?”

“I’ve talked about it with Elle. And Ethan and Riley. I might be a little talked out at the moment. But thank you.”

“How are Dr Zane and Dr Silver Fox?”

“They’re well. And it’s so awkward that you call my stepfather that. He’s older than Mom and Dad, you know.”

“Hey, I admire the aesthetic.” Alex looks at her. They have Hana’s eyes and Maxwell’s smile, and it’s almost always enough to melt her a little inside. “So...takeout, ice cream, and face masks with movies tonight?”

Anna has to stop her bottom lip from wobbling; she’s the luckiest person in the world. “You don’t have a hot date or a passion project tonight?” 

“Prospective ones. But they all pale in comparison next to the idea of hanging out with the world’s best sister.”

Anna smiles. “Thank you. Yes.” If her voice breaks a little, neither of them mention it.

_One week after Riley had given Anna the letter, the two of them went shopping for wedding attire._

_“Mom,” Anna turned away from the beautiful pale green dress she’d been examining and looked at Riley. “Are you marrying Ethan for money?” Anna believed that Riley loved Ethan. She also believed that Riley had loved Anna’s father. But she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the decisions Riley had made. Intellectually, yes. Emotionally, no._

_“Financial stability is an incentive to marry. But I don’t marry someone unless I love them.” Riley answers without any sense of surprise at the question. She’s examining a simple sheath wedding dress, her head tilted to one side._

_“You’re really going to move to Providence. For a spouse.” Anna realizes it’s a foolish question. Riley has the opportunity to teach at a prestigious university, and she and Ethan are truly well-matched. They have been for three years now._

_“For my career, and for Ethan. I did the same thing when I moved to Cordonia.” Riley catches Anna’s eyes in the mirror. They’re unguarded, but Anna can’t quite read them._

_“Your dad was from the Reservation. Your mom was a New Yorker. You’ve lived in twenty different states and two different countries. How…” Anna wasn’t sure what she was trying to ask, or why it was important._

_“I won’t try to deny the power of place.” Riley turned away from the mirror and the dress and sat down in one of the boutique’s plush chairs._

_“But…” Anna sat down in the chair across from her._

_“The call of freedom is even more powerful.”_

_Sometimes her mother frustrated her to no end. “Mother. Is that why you really left Cordonia?” Anna had read the letter dozens of times. It had been like drinking salt water._

_“I left because I had no business being there. Going to Cordonia was like taking a hit of cocaine or something. I thought I could handle it. No big deal. But it was one adrenaline high after another. Which was why I said yes to your father when he asked me to marry him, when I should have said no. It was why I made our wedding into a political event.” Riley pauses. “Adrenaline, and a sort of hero complex. I wasn’t new to either.”_

_“Don’t tell me it’s why you agreed to allow me to be appointed as the royal heir. I know you didn’t want children. I can put two and two together.” Anna watched her eyes widen in the mirror behind Riley. She wondered if this was the root of the problem. Even before Riley had given her the letter, it had haunted her, and increasingly over the years as she’d grown old enough to understand more and more, and Riley, Maxwell, and Hana had allowed her to know more of her own history._

_Riley didn’t deny it. She held Anna’s gaze. “If Maxwell and I had dated a while, and then gotten engaged, and had a non-spectacle wedding, and if I’d had a birth control failure, or if Maxwell had told me he really wanted a child, but down the line, maybe he and I would still be together.”  
She paused. “But that’s not what happened. I bit off more than I could chew, the press turned my pregnancy into a damned circus, and your birth caused a fresh new round post-traumatic stress disorder.” She paused, her eyes narrowing, then relaxing. This time Anna could read them. Pain and regret at the memory. Guilt “No. The circumstances leading up to and surrounding it did. And then I had a daughter whose future we’d decided for her, and who was then turned into a political pawn. Riley paused, looking down at her hands. “I hated myself for making certain choices. I couldn’t forgive Cordonia, for being such a backward country, but I also had to face reality and take the blame; I mean, I’d waltzed in and acted as if I knew what was best.”_

_She looked up. “So Maxwell and I made some hard choices, because I drew a line in the sand. And it was really hard for a long time, but now we’re both happy. And you’ve had a chance to come to know and to live your other cultures. And most importantly, we showed you that you have choices. At least I hope that that is something that has come out of this.” She took Anna’s hand. “I hope that we’ve also shown you that there are choices that have to be made carefully.”_

_Anna looked into eyes that were so much like her own. The answers she’d sought were, at the end of the day, a bit anti-climactic. “For today, I don’t want to make careful choices. I just want...tacos. And ice cream. And a maid of honor dress. And to go to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.” She squeezed Riley’s hand and then stood. “This one.” She gestured to the simple green dress before looking into Riley’s eyes. “And in a few more weeks, I want to walk you down the aisle.”_

_Riley smiled softly. “Yes. Whatever you want.”_

Alex falls asleep on the couch after Chinese takeout and pizza and ice cream, and three hours and forty-two minutes of movies. Anna puts a blanket over them and cleans up the rubbish and dishes and takes them to the main kitchen.

It’s still light outside, and she takes a walk around the estate, looking out over the mountain in the distance, and the waterfall, and the little gazebo she’s always loved. She wonders if Riley did this, before she stopped calling Cordonia home.


	3. Chapter 3

“Mom and Dad are on their way.” Alex finds Anna in the tack room, surrounded by perfectly oiled bridles. 

“Great,” Anna snaps the tin of saddle soap closed. “I’ll go get cleaned up for dinner.”

“Please tell me that you’re going to tell them.” Alex matches her stride as they walk to the house.

“I was thinking of waiting until brunch tomorrow.” Anna stares straight ahead.

“Anna, I hate to break it to you, but you didn’t inherit Riley’s expert neutral expression. They’re going to know that something is going on with you.”

“Just keep them out of the stables so they don’t see the evidence of my stress cleaning and we’ll be fine.”

“Anna, stop.” Alex puts a hand on her arm. Anna slows to a stop and sighs, turning to face them. 

Alex fixes her with the same look that has wrapped Anna around their little finger for the majority of the last sixteen years. “Please don’t torture yourself.”

Anna sighs, and it’s less shaky than it probably ought to be. “Alright.”

**

Maxwell’s eyes light up as Anna sets a lasagna on the table and Alex pours glasses of wine. “Look at this Babe,” he says as he leans over to Hana. “Best kids ever, or what?”

Hana smiles. “We are incredibly fortunate.” She looks lovingly at Alex and Anna, and her smile fades just slowly as she settles on Anna’s expression. Alex is right; Anna has her mother’s eyes, but her father’s openness when she’s kept a secret so long that the foundation is crumbling. Anna meets her eyes and tries to smile, but only manages a subtle nod.

Maxwell catches on and gives her a gentle look. “What’s up Sweetheart?”

Anna sits down, focusing on the sturdiness of her chair. She breathes. “I’ve been accepted into medical school. I, um, have decided on University of Colorado.”

Hana’s eyes show her delight. “Oh Darling, that’s wonderful.” Maxwell’s smile lights up his entire countenance. “That’s great kiddo.” He picks up his glass of wine, still grinning. “I propose a toast to my daughter, the future queen and doctor.”

Anna’s eyes blur with hot tears at the same moment that Alex grabs her hand. Even then she can see her parents’ expressions cycle through surprise, then concern, then understanding.

Maxwell sets his glass down. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. Ah, I fumbled that one didn’t I?”

Hana moves to sit beside her and put her arms around her. “Darling, it’s alright.” She strokes Anna’s hair, just as she’s done since before Anna can remember. “Take your time.”

Alex doesn’t let go of Anna’s hand. She squeezes their’s in an effor to steady herself.   
She leans into Hana’s embrace until her sobs subside. When her vision clears, Maxwell is giving her his most reassuring look.

“Annabelle Catherine Beaumont. I love you. There is nothing in this world that can change that.” His blue eyes are shining, and so full of love that Anna wonders if they are holding her together. “Not a title, or a lack thereof.”

Anna takes a steadying breath. Suddenly it doesn’t seem so hard anymore.

**

“Don’t tell either of your mothers, but you make the best lasagna ever.” Maxwell sits next to her in the gazebo, sipping a cup of tea.

Anna smiles and holds her own cup close to her. “Don’t tell Mom, but Alex has surpassed her in tiramisu-making.”

“Deal,” Maxwell’s eyes take on the quality of memory. “Does Riley still hate tiramisu?”

“She does. It drives Ethan crazy.” Anna smirks, and attempts to affect Ethan’s purposely hyperbolic exasperation. “‘What kind of Italian doesn’t like tiramisu?’ and then he makes her baclava. It’s sickeningly adorable.”

Maxwell chuckles. “Classic.”

Anna takes a slow sip of her tea, peering at him over the rim of her cup. It’s a comfortable silence between them.

“She told me I didn’t need to rush my decision. Or, I guess, just that there wasn’t a firm deadline.”

Maxwell takes a sip of his own tea and nods, slowly. “She’s right.” He pauses. “But I think you have to ask yourself what will help you the most, whether that’s delaying the decision-which I think is fine-or making it quickly-which I also think is fine.”

Anna nods. Idly, she traces a finger around the rim of the cup. “A part of me just wants to keep my options open. Another part feels like I need to choose the one that offers the most net positive result. And then…” she sighs, “I just can’t shake the thought that I’m...betraying duty. Potentially, anyway. Which probably seems ridiculous.”

“Sweetheart, no. It just means you’re human.”

“I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, walking through that village where everything is made of china.” Anna looks down at her cup. It’s not a delicate, dainty vessel, but a sturdy mug.

Maxwell taps his fingers against the tentacles that adorn his own mug. “You know you’ll always have a home here Anna. No matter what you choose. And that’s true whether you chase what you’ve wanted for so long, or accept something you never asked for.”

Anna holds his gaze. “A gift versus...something I have to earn?”

“Some would say an obligation versus an option. But I think you and I both know it’s not that simple at all.” He sighs. “Sometimes it’s really just not as basic as a ‘right choice’ or ‘wrong choice.’ That’s just the uncertainty of life.” His gaze is soft, reassuring. “You’re not responsible for the chaos that is reality.”

Anna shifts closer to him and rests her head on his shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

The teacup that Anna holds is beautiful and refined. Anna has loved the Palace china her entire life. She’s not sure if she’s imagining the fact that it doesn’t fit her hands as well as it used to.

“I’m sorry Octavia couldn’t join us for this meeting.” Liam takes a sip of his coffee and flashes her one of his ever-reassuring smiles. 

“Her Majesty is an excellent queen; I understand.” Anna holds her cup close to herself, the warmth comforting. She imagines a string holding her up, making her posture straight and assured.

“That she is.” Liam sets his coffee carefully in the saucer and places it on the table between them. “Tell me what’s new with you.” His inflection is even and reassuring.

“Well, I have applied to a few medical schools, and was accepted to several. I’ve decided to attend the University of Colorado.”

Liam touches her arm gently, his smile bright. “I’m so pleased for you Anna; that is wonderful news.”

“Thank you.” She meets his gaze and counts to four. “I asked for this meeting to tell you that I’m strongly considering abdicating.” She inwardly winces. She probably sounds wishy washy and indecisive.

Liam nods, his expression impassive, save for his eyes, which, as they often do, seem to reflect contemplation. “Thank you for telling me Anna. I can’t imagine that this is an easy decision for you.”

“It’s not.” Anna swallows her tears.. Strange how she’d worried that he wouldn’t have any sympathy.

“Can I show you something?” He pauses. “Two somethings, actually.”

“Of course.” She sips her tea and watches him as he excuses himself and leaves the room. He returns carrying a thin book and what appears to be a pocket watch. As he sits down, Anna can see that it’s actually a compass.

“I received both of these gifts from dear friends the year I ascended to the throne. Drake gave me this compass, told me it was so I wouldn’t lose my way.” 

Anna carefully sets her cup in the saucer and places it on the table as Liam offers her the compass. She cups it in her hands. “It’s beautiful.” 

Liam smiles and opens the book, removing a joker card that’s marked his place. “Your mother gave me this book the night of my Coronation. She had marked this particular poem.”

Anna knows which one it is before Liam begins to read.

Beyond the Red Brick of Ellis Island

where the two Slovak children

who became my grandparents

waited the long days of quarantine,

after leaving the sickness,

the old Empires of Europe,

a Circle Line ship slips easily

on its way to the island

of the tall woman, green

as dreams of forests and meadows

waiting for those who'd worked

a thousand years

yet never owned their own.

Like millions of others,

I too come to this island,

nine decades the answerer

of dreams.

Yet only one part of my blood loves that memory.

Another voice speaks

of native lands

within this nation.

Lands invaded

when the earth became owned.

Lands of those who followed

the changing Moon,

knowledge of the seasons

in their veins.

Anna smiles. “I love that one.” She allows herself a small laugh. “Of course Mom would leave that particular poem marked.”

“I didn’t read it until after she’d been removed from the Ball. Several days after, in fact.” His expression grows sad. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again. When I read it, I thought perhaps she’d given it to me because she wanted me to know what I’d be getting into by marrying her. That is, that she would always be tied to her homeland. Indeed, the night I offered her Valtoria, she told me that she had to insist on dual citizenship.” He pauses. “After she gave up her title, I saw the poem in a new light. And for a while, it took on a certain bittersweet quality. A tree can’t be separated from its roots and still survive.” Liam grins and nods at the compass in Anna’s hands. “But then I realized that plants can spread their seeds.” He pauses. “This metaphor sounded much better in my head.”

Anna laughs, and this time she allows the tears to spill. She wipes them away, but she’s smiling. “I like it. I love that you’re sharing your wisdom with me. And I really love that you’re trying to make me feel better.”

Liam smiles and puts a gentle hand on her arm. “Anna, whatever you choose, whatever you decide, I couldn’t be anything but proud of you.”

Anna carefully sets the compass down and leans in to hug him. “Thank you.”

**

“I can’t believe you’re making me climb this monster hill in this heat,” Remy grumbles as he follows Anna and Elle up the cliff side.

Anna grins at her cousin and gives him a fond eyeroll. “I have seen you haul bales of hay and straw in the Texas heat, and pitch manure. That is way more sweaty and exhausting than this little climb.”

“That was for the good of the ranch,” Remy counters. “And I was properly attired. I don’t even have shoes on.”

“If you’d worn your shoes for this climb you would have had to climb up here barefoot to get them after you jumped,” Elle offers.

Anna grins and nudges Elle. “When Remy says it was for the good of the ranch, he also means that a certain Texas beauty queen told him the best way to develop, and I quote, ‘sexy muscles’ is to do ranch chores.”

Remy shrugs. “Two birds, one stone.”

Elle laughs and shakes out her arms. “Understandable. Now, Anna, are you ready to take this literal leap to commemorate this figurative leap you’re embarking on?”

Anna smiles softly. “Thank you both for doing this with me.”

“Just promise that you won’t forget about us when you’re off becoming a hot shot doctor.”

“Remy, I not only won’t forget about you, I’ll be shoveling shit right alongside you on the Walker Ranch as long as I’m able.”

Elle looks at them both. “That is the most touching thing I’ve ever heard. Now, on three?”

Anna takes their hands and begins the count. “One, two…” On ‘three’ they jump, and Anna doesn’t feel afraid.


	5. Chapter 5

Anna inhales the salty sea air as she steps out of the car, as if she can take a part of it and lock it away for safe-keeping. 

She grins at four people who trickle out of the house and down the porch steps. “Hello Mom, Ethan, Uncle James, Uncle Logan.”

Maxwell exits the car and beams. “Zany! Ethan! James! Logan!” He trots over to the group and hugs Riley, Ethan, and James, and then turns his attention to Logan. The two men engage in a complicated handshake ritual, before embracing.

“I missed you,” Maxwell whispers loudly. 

“I missed you too,” Logan replies in a slightly more muffled tone.

“Aww,” Alex steps up next to Anna. “Old people are adorable.”

Anna rolls her eyes. “Correct, but Dad and Logan aren’t even sixty.”

Ethan clears his throat as the hug continues. “Should we, ah, go inside and let them join us when they’re ready?”

Hana giggles. “Yes, this may take a while.”

Riley smiles. “True. We probably have time for some coffee.”

James smirks. “And perhaps a viewing of all twelve Avengers movies.”

“I guess if you only see one of your best friends a few times a year reunions are pretty emotional,” Alex muses as everyone else walks into the house.

Riley nods. “True. Though, they used to do that even if they’d only gone a week without seeing one another.”

**

Anna watches the sun set from the front steps, focusing on the shifts and changes in color.

She hears the door open behind her and light footsteps on the porch. “Mind if I join you?”

Anna smiles up at her. “Please do.”

“What does home mean to you? I mean, how would you define it? How do you decide what it is? Besides the people whom you love or the physical space.”

“Home is the intersection of your passion and purpose, your calling, so to speak, and your capabilities. It’s the perfect recipe, or collection of recipes, perhaps.”

“Take Riley, for instance. She was a first responder. I would say that it was the intersection of her intelligence, her passion for helping people, and an adrenaline addiction. But, it’s a difficult career to maintain as one ages. And just like a baker sometimes needs to replace a common allergen in a recipe, she had to make a shift. So she chose politics, and eventually teaching. They all challenge her, and all involve helping people, but she had to change her recipes in order to avoid certain allergens.” She paused. “I’m certainly mixing my metaphors.”

Anna rests her head on Hana’s shoulder. “Since you’re talking about recipes, that seems appropriate.”

Hana’s sighs, but Anna knows that there’s a fond smile on her face. “You and your mom and dad and your love of terrible puns.” She puts her arm around Anna’s shoulders. “You’re going to do so well, and you’ll be able to do your work anywhere.”

“How do you always know just what to say?”

“Because I know how you ruminate, and by the time you ask me something philosophical, you’re seeking confirmation as much as you’re seeking knowledge.”

Anna giggles. “Oh, you’ve got me.” She sighs. “Maybe when I get to Denver, and actually begin, I’ll feel steadier about all of this.”

Hana pulls away slightly. “Look at me My Love.” 

It’s twilight, but Anna can read Hana’s eyes like a well-loved book. “You can always tell when she feels strongly about something,” she’s been told more than once.

“Annabelle, you are your mother’s daughter. Strong, a bit prone to wandering, but never aimless.” She gently cups Anna’s face in her hands. “And just like her, you aren’t fearless, but you are courageous. And you are your father’s daughter Annabelle. Willing to do whatever it takes to make things better for others, and able to see the good in everything. You have the best from both of them. I know you’re going to thrive.”

As Hana pulls her in for a hug, Anna can hear the conversation and laughter coming from the house. She imagines it stretching over her like armor.


End file.
